Tips and Recipes for Baking to Reduce Food Waste

If you have an abundance of ingredients in your fridge and pantry and don’t want to waste them, here are some Tips and Recipes for Baking to Reduce Food Waste in your kitchen!  Simple, practical and delicious ideas.

Here are my Tips and Recipes for Baking to Reduce Food Waste

Don’t Have Buttermilk?  Use Sour Cream or Yogurt Instead.

Most recipes like those for muffins and loaves, you can substitute sour cream or plain yogurt directly for buttermilk. This is a great way to use up close-to-date dairy products!  In fact, I think my recipe for Mom’s Oatmeal Muffins are even better with sour cream!

Have Brown Bananas?  Make Banana Bread.

Don’t let your brown bananas go to waste!  Freeze them to bake with later, or make this Banana Bread or these Banana Muffins.

Have little bits of leftover cereal?  Make a tasty treat with it all!

If you have a pantry full of leftover bits of cereal that no one will eat, you can turn these bits into a delicious and easy no bake dessert…this is such a great way to reduce food waste!  These No Bake Chocolate Cereal Squares are soft, chewy and so chocolatey!  And can be ready to enjoy in about 15 minutes.  Grab the recipe here!

When life gives you lemons, make lemon juice.

Don’t let your lemons go to waste, save the juice! Juice your lemons and freeze them in ice cube trays, then use the juice in different recipes like my Easy Lemon Loaf or Lemon Curd.

Have overripe apples?  There’s a recipe for that!

We often end up with a bowl of squishy overripe apples that no one wants to eat, so I use those apples in many recipes.  This is another great way to reduce food waste!

• Make applesauce to enjoy as a snack or sauce for pork chops.
• Use the applesauce in baking (see below for substitution ideas).
• Make an Apple Crisp or Apple Pie

Have Overripe Fruit?  Make a Crisp.

If you’ve got overripe peaches, apples, plums, berries, cherries, rhubarb or any fruit, don’t waste them, make a fruit crisp!  Crisps are very forgiving when it comes to overripe fruit.  In fact, ripe fruit is sometimes even more flavourful, making your crisps extra delicious.  You can even mix together your fruits and make a Peach Berry Crisp, or a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, the possibilities are endless.  You can use my recipe for Peach Raspberry Crisp and just substitute the 4-5 cups of peaches for 4-5 cups of other fruit.

Out of oil or butter?  Use Applesauce.

This is another great way to use up those old apples you turned into applesauce!

• If your recipe requires oil and you don’t have any, substitute the equal amount of applesauce.  Example, 1 cup oil = 1 cup applesauce.  This recipe for Morning Glory Muffins is a great example…just substitute the oil with applesauces.
• If your recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use 1/2 cup of applesauce instead.

No Fresh Fruit?  Raid your Pantry for Canned Instead

Canned foods are no good if you don’t use them before their due date!  Canned fruit is a delicious ingredient substitute for many baking recipes.  Make a Peach Pie or Peach Cobbler with drained canned peaches.  Add canned pineapple to cakes, like my favourite Hummingbird Cake.  Canned cherry pie filling is perfect in this Simple Cherry Pie and these Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes.

Have Leftover Condensed Milk?  Bake with it.

Sweetened Condensed Milk is a common ingredient in many baking recipes, but often recipes call for small amounts, leaving you with leftovers that you don’t want to waste.  Here is a collection of Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipes, with ideas on how to use this delicious ingredient in desserts and treats.

Don’t Let Dry Bread Go to Waste!  Make Pudding.

If you’ve got a loaf of dried bread, you’re one step closer to a delicious dessert or breakfast!  Dry bread is the perfect ingredient for this Banana Bread Pudding (which is also a great recipe to use old bananas).  You can also use your dry bread for Baked French Toast recipes!

Have a Box Cake Mix?  Make Cookies.

If you’ve got a stash of cake mixes in your pantry, you can use them for more than just cake! These Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies are one of our most favourite cookies!  You can use a golden, white, vanilla or chocolate cake mix.  This Caramel Nut Breakfast Cake is also a great way to stretch a box cake mix.

Marshmallows make everything taste better!

For some reason I often have bags of marshmallows in my pantry that never seem to get used…I think they’re often left over from the summer.  But don’t throw them out!  Make Rice Krispie Squares, or Peanut Butter Cheerio Squares, or this fun and delicious Popcorn Marshmallow Cake.

I hope you found some useful ideas here to help reduce waste in your kitchen!  And make sure to check back here again as I add more tips!  If you are looking for more ideas, make sure to follow my Food and Kitchen Tips Board on Pinterest!

Do you have any tips for Baking to Reduce Food Waste in your kitchen?  Share them in the comments below!

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Have a delicious day!